Since Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi, all Fire Emblem games have contained the "support" function. Certain pairs of units that fight alongside each other can gain a bonus that allows them to fight better. These gains are triggered by support conversations, in which the player gains more information about the personality of the two units involved. There can only be three conversations between the same pair of units.

Like other Fire Emblem games, Path of Radiance was praised by reviewers for its character development; some reviewers state a particular emotional attachment to individual characters in Path of Radiance, which was present in previous Fire Emblem installments. Most of these characters return in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, which is set three years after Path of Radiance.

Ike is the son of Commander Greil of the Greil Mercenaries. The story begins with Ike's last day as a trainee in his father's mercenary company, and follows him as he grows in power to lead a military force for the purpose of restoring an entire nation.